Jean-Philippe Guillemin has announced the release of Zenwalk Linux 7.4. This is the project's first stable release since October 2012 and an important update of the Slackware-based desktop Linux distribution with the latest development build of the Xfce desktop. From the release announcement: "The Xfce desktop environment has been updated version 4.12 git, providing a good overview of the upcoming 4.12 final. This intermediate version has been fully tested during four months and the result can already be considered very stable (a few components of the Xfce 4.10 have been kept for stability). Several applications of previous Zenwalk releases have been replaced - MPlayer is now the multimedia player (instead of Totem), LXDM is the display manager (instead of GDM), Xfburn is the CD/DVD burner (instead of Brasero), Geeqie is now the image viewer. As usual most packages have been updated: LibreOffice 4.1.3, GIMP 2.8.10, Firefox 27.0, Thunderbird 24.3.0, Linux kernel 3.10.25 with performance tweaks." Get the new Zenwalk (installation CD image) from here: zenwalk-7.4.iso (661MB, MD5).

Zenwalk Linux (formerly Minislack) is a Slackware-based GNU/Linux operating system with a goal of being slim and fast by using only one application per task and with focus on graphical desktop and multimedia usage. Zenwalk features the latest Linux technology along with a complete programming environment and libraries to provide an ideal platform for application programmers. Zenwalk's modular approach also provides a simple way to convert Zenwalk Linux into a finely-tuned modern server (e.g. LAMP, messaging, file sharing).

Sebastian Reisse has announced the release of the "Live" edition of Zenwalk Linux 7.4 (also known as "Zenlive", based on Slackware Linux): "I uploaded the final version of Zenwalk Live 7.4 which has updated OpenSSL packages to fix the Heartbleed issue and some other small fixes. This is the first Zenwalk Live version that is NOT using an Aufs-enabled kernel but instead running Unionfs in userspace via FUSE on an unmodified Slackware generic kernel. It will also be probably the last Zenwalk Live version supporting 32-bit systems and it's going to be very likely the last Zenwalk Live edition that I contribute to the Zenwalk project. Same as in Zenwalk Live 7.2 I decided to feature PAE for supporting more than 4 GB RAM on 32-bit systems, but as a downside Zenwalk Live will not run on Pentium M (which lacks PAE support)." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download link: zenlive-7.4-dvd.iso (845MB, MD5).

After a hiatus lasting just over a year, Jean-Philippe Guillemin has announced a new development release of Zenwalk Linux - the first beta build of the upcoming version 7.4. Zenwalk Linux is a lightweight Slackware-based distribution featuring the Xfce desktop environment. From the release announcement (which includes a screenshot of the default Xfce desktop): "Zenwalk Linux 7.4 beta is ready for testing. In this release you will find: LibreOffice 4.1.1, GIMP 2.8.6, Xfce 4.12git, Thunderbird 24.1.0, Firefox 25.0.1, Linux kernel 3.10.20 with performance tweaks. Several applications from previous Zenwalk releases have been replaced: MPlayer is now the multimedia player (instead of Totem), LXDM is the display manager (instead of GDM), Xfburn is the CD/DVD burner (instead of Brasero), Geeqie is now the image viewer. Have fun and please report bugs." Here is the brief with a screenshot of the default Xfce desktop. Download the installation CD image from the project's main download server: zenwalk-7.4beta1.iso (656MB, MD5).

The "Live" edition of Zenwalk Linux (also known as "Zenlive" and based on the latest version of Slackware Linux), version 7.2, has been released: "I am happy to finally announce the release of Zenlive 7.2 - just a few days after Zenwalk Linux 7.2 standard edition was official launched. A lot of fine-tuning and testing was necessary and a lot of packages have been upgraded since the last beta 3 to reflect recent changes in upstream Zenwalk. Under the hood: new xz compression Squashfs 4.0 (now in vanilla kernel); all new simple installer and live scripts; on-the-fly optional live module activation during the running live session; persistent changes feature is now supported, even over network shares; additional packages for more functionality; additional language packs and full Japanese language input support...." Read the full release announcement for further details. Download the live DVD image from here: zenlive-7.2-dvd.iso (922MB, MD5).

Jean-Philippe Guillemin has announced the release of Zenwalk Linux 7.2, a Slackware-based desktop Linux distribution with Xfce as the preferred desktop environment: "We are happy to release Zenwalk Linux 7.2. After several months of rescheduling we think it's time to let this new jet fly. Zenwalk 7.2 is loyal to its design - providing 1 application per task, everything needed to work, play, code and create, in a single 700 MB CD image, through a 10 minutes automatic install process on any recent computer. Zenwalk 7.2 runs on kernel 3.4.8 with BFS scheduler. The Zenwalk desktop is based on the Xfce 4.10, GTK+ 2.24.10 and 3.4.4, with unique look and feel and perfect ergonomic integration of the application set - LibreOffice 3.6.2, Firefox and Thunderbird 15.0.1, GIMP 2.8.2 and much more. The Netpkg package manager has been improved with multiple mirrors support and better performance." Here is the full release announcement. Download: zenwalk-7.2.iso (679MB, MD5).

Jean-Philippe Guillemin has announced the availability of the fifth release candidate for Zenwalk Linux 7.2, a Slackware-based desktop distribution: "Zenwalk Linux 7.2 RC5 is ready for testing. Lately we've been looking towards a better Slackware compatibility, which will make it easy to switch to 64-bit in a near future using the Slackware64 package base. In fact Pat has updated GTK+ 2 and many other packages, added GTK+ 3, making it possible to replace many Zenwalk packages with very little adaptation. The work may not be finished, it's up to you to find any remaining bugs. Main changes: Linux kernel 3.4.8 with BFS scheduler; Xfce 4.10, LibreOffice 3.5, GTK+ 2.24.10 and 3.4.4, Thunderbird 14, GIMP 2.8, Firefox 14.0.1; Netpkg 4.9.1 with multi-mirror support." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: zenwalk-7.2RC5.iso (654MB, MD5).

Frederic Boulet has announced the release of Zenwalk Linux 7.0 "GNOME" edition, a Slackware-based distribution featuring the GNOME 2.32 desktop: "We are proud to provide Zenwalk GNOME 7.0 based on GNOME 2.32.1. It is the last step before going to GNOME 3.0. Zenwalk GNOME keeps the same way as the standard Zenwalk edition, a clean and clear desktop. Hal support is removed, NetworkManager is preferred instead of wicd, Rhythmbox is also introduced as the default music player and CD grabber, Viewnior is used as a fast and quick viewer of pictures, and Simple Scan replaces XSane to scan documents. As usual, most packages have been updated to the latest stable version: NetworkManager 0.8.4, gedit 2.30.4, Nautilus 2.32.2.1, Rhythmbox 0.13.3, Viewnior 1.1, Simple Scan 2.32.0.2, gThumb 2.12.3, LibreOffice 3.3.1, Linux kernel 2.6.37.4 with BFS scheduler and performance tweaks." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: zenwalk-gnome-7.0.iso (665MB, MD5).

Jean-Philippe Guillemin has announced the release of Zenwalk Linux 7.0 "Live" edition, a complete and installable Zenwalk live CD: "We are happy to announce the highly awaited Zenwalk Live 7.0, which will allow more people to try out Zenwalk without having to install it first. Zenwalk Live 7.0 is based on the sophisticated Slackware-Live scripts. Zenwalk Live consists of standard Zenwalk ISO packages following the main Zenwalk release, with the latest Xfce desktop and applications, and is shipped with a new artwork theme, additional localization packages for Icecat and Icedove, and the NVIDIA proprietary driver. It also comes with full support for inputting and displaying Japanese. You'll get the latest stable software including the most recent patches and bug fixes." Continue reading the rest of the release announcement for more information. Download: zenlive-7.0.iso (688MB, MD5).

Jean-Philippe Guillemin has announced the release of Zenwalk Linux 7.0 "Core" edition, a minimalist, but extensible distribution based on Slackware Linux: "Zenwalk Core 7.0 is ready. Zenwalk Core 7.0 is the base foundation of Zenwalk - everything except the X server and desktop environment. Installation process takes about 10 minutes and then you are free to install just the packages you need to create your very own desktop environment or your highly optimized and secured server. Zenwalk Core features the 2.6.37.4 kernel with BFS scheduler, KMS and many performance tweaks. Two kernels are available - the standard one supporting SATA or PATA disks, and a bigger kernel supporting any disk technology from SATA to SCSI. Note: the next version of Zenwalk Core will most probably be included in Zenwalk Standard edition as an installation option." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: zenwalk_Core-7.0.iso (329MB, MD5).